Animation Magazine

Author: Ryan Ball

  • Cinderella III, Shortcake Join DVD Ball

    While boys get their action fix with Hellboy and Teen Titans, girls will find plenty for them as well in this week’s batch of home video release. Disney’s all-new direct-to-video sequel Cinderella III: A Twist in Time debuts today, along with Strawberry Shortcake: The Sweet Dreams Movie and The Last Unicorn: 25th Anniversary Edition.

    In Cinderella III: A Twist in Time, Cinderella, along with mice pals Gus and Jaq, have to set things right when her wicked stepmother gets a hold of Fairy Godmother’s magic wand and turns back time to make sure evil stepsister Anastasia is the one slated to marry Prince Charming. The film is directed by Frank Nissen, who helmed 2005’s Pooh’s Heffalump Movie and worked with Chuck Jones and a number of other respected animators on the 1973 featurette Man: The Polluter for The National Film Board of Canada and Zagreb Films.

    DVD extras include a Bibbidi-Bobbidi Choose game that lets kids make some magic of their own with Fairy Godmother’s wand, a music video for the song ‘I Still Believe’ (performed by Hayden Panettierre), a backstage look at the making of the Disney Cruise Line production Twice Charmed and a first look at the upcoming DVD Disney Princess Enchanted Tales. The DVD lists for $29.99.

    Written by Carter Crocker (Jungle Book 2, Winnie The Pooh series, Return to Neverland), Strawberry Shortcake: The Sweet Dreams Movie is a new CG-animated feature based on American Greetings Corp.’s hugely successful girls’ brand. In the movie, the Purple Pie Man of Porcupine Peak strolls into town to cause trouble for Strawberry as she sets out to grow of fresh new fields of berry bushes that will yield enough tasty goodness everyone. In order to stop the villain, our heroine and her friends must travel to the Land of Dreams, learning an important lesson about teamwork along the way. The Fox Home Entertainment release carries a suggested retail price of $19.98.

    The 1982 animated favorite The Last Unicorn is back with a special 25th anniversary edition. Directed by Jules Bass and Arthur Rankin Jr., the film features the voices of Alan Arkin, Jeff Bridges, Mia Farrow, Tammy Grimes, Robert Klein, Angela Lansbury, Christopher Lee, Keenan Wynn, Paul Frees, Rene Auberjonois and Brother Theodore in the story of a brave unicorn who teams with a young magician to stop an evil king form capturing all the world’s unicorns.

    Bonus features include a featurette titled The Tail of The Last Unicorn, which features an interview with Peter S. Beagle, author of the book on which the film is based. There’s also an Escape the Red Bull set-top game, Schmendrick’s Magical Gallery and the original theatrical trailer. The Lionsgate release lists for $19.98.

    In addition, girls should enjoy My Little Pony: A Very Pony Place, a Paramount Home Entertainment release that offers three new musical adventures starring the Hasbro toy horses. The DVD can be had for $16.99.

  • Cookie Jar Adds Digital Media VP

    Cookie Jar Ent. has appointed Josette Bonte to the newly created position of VP of digital media. Working out of Cookie Jar’s Los Angeles offices, Bonte will report to Ken Locker, senior VP of digital media, as she helps the company expand its presence across digital media platforms.

    ‘Josette Bonte is among the top tier of pioneering broadband media executives whose depth of experience in new and traditional media will make her an invaluable asset in the important areas of digital media business development, strategic planning, content management and distribution partnerships,’ says Locker.

    Bonte joins Cookie Jar Ent. from the research and consulting firm Ovum, where she served as VP of content and IPTV. During her tenure with Ovum, she worked with such clients as AT&T, Verizon, BT, France Telecom and Telefonica. She previously served as senior VP of business development for Media Station Inc., an online game company whose owners include Phillips Electronics. Bonte has spent the past 25 years working at the convergence of entertainment, telecom and technology, and is considered an interactive TV pioneer within the digital media industry,

    Following stints in the traditional film and television industry, Bonte joined Telco US West (now Qwest) in 1994 as head of interactive media marketing, working on competitive strategies and developing applications that were incorporated into such early broadband efforts as the Time Warner Full Service Network in Orlando. In the late nineties, She worked as an IP content strategist, advising satellite companies including Loral Space & Communications and PanAmSat in the areas of broadband content offer and delivery.

    Cookie Jar Ent, Inc., Cookie Jar Group’s entertainment operation, is a global, independent producer, marketer and brand manager of such renowned children’s properties as Spider Riders, Johnny Test, The Doodlebops, Arthur and Caillou.

  • Will Vinton Makes Comic Debut

    Academy Award-winning clay animation guru Will Vinton has teamed with Dark Horse Publishing to produce Jack Hightower, a 150-page graphic novel about a very unique secret agent. Co-created by Vinton’s writing partner, Andrew Wiese, the action-adventure-comedy tale features art by Fabio Laguna and is now available at comic retailers and bookstores for the suggested price of $14.95.

    Jack Hightower follows the adventures of a tall, daring and handsome secret agent who had it all but was never able to capture of his arch nemesis, Dr. Flagitious Savant. When the mad Doctor lures Jack into the beam of a shrink ray, our hero must work to put his miniaturized life back together, hunt down Dr. Savant and reverse the process that made him into the world’s first living action figure.

    “I’ve always liked graphic novels, so when Mike Richardson suggested writing a graphic novel story about Jack, Andrew Wiese, my writing partner and I jumped at it,’ says Vinton. “In some ways creating this character was very similar to creating a character for animation’it’s like storyboarding a film. But with a graphic novel you have to whittle it down to the essence of character and story’you have to be more spare and make everything count’then make that really vivid.”

    After winning an Oscar for his short film Closed Mondays, Vinton founded Will Vinton Studios and coined the term ‘claymation’ to define the process employed to create such memorable works as the California Raisins ad campaign and the Fox Television primetime series The PJs.

    Vinton and Wiese will sign books at the Things From Another World store at Universal Citiwalk in Los Angeles on Feb. 10 from 2 p.m. to 5 p.m. More information Jack Hightower can be found at www.darkhorse.com/profile/profile.php?sku=10-521 and www.jackhightower.com. For more on Will Vinton, go to www.willvinton.net.

  • Disney Adds Two to London TV Sales Team

    Buena Vista International Television (BVITV), the Walt Disney Co.’s international TV distribution arm, has appointed Dayna Donaldson and Simon Barwick to its London-based EMEA TV sales team. Donaldson has been named sales director for the Nordic region, responsible for free TV, pay TV and digital media business in Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Finland and Iceland. Meanwhile Barwick will serve as senior sales manager for the U.K. and Ireland region. His employment is effectively immediately and Donaldson will join the team at the end of March. Both will report to Catherine Powell, BVITV’s VP of sales for U.K. and Ireland, Nordic, Benelux and Israel.

    Donaldson was previously head of sales for Minotaur International, one of the U.K.’s largest distributors of multi-channel programming. There she headed the sales team responsible for licensing programming produced for the five Flextech Channels and independent production companies such as SMG, LaPlante Prods., Kudos, TwoFour and Shine, and was responsible for all sales to the Americas. Before that, she was VP of distribution for Hypnotic in New York.

    Barwick movies up from the role of finance director at BVITV, in which he was responsible for commercial and financial strategy across the Asia-Pacific region. He originally began his media career with BVITV’s London-based finance team in 1998, before moving on to stints at such international broadcasters as BSkyB in the U.K. and Foxtel in Australia.

    BVITV manages the pay TV, free TV, pay-per-view, video-on-demand and mobile licensing of Disney’s filmed entertainment. The branch covers feature films from Walt Disney Pictures and Touchstone Pictures, as well as Disney-produced animated and live action series, and also services the distribution of the Jetix Europe portfolio of programming.

  • Blockbuster Scores With Bowl Ad

    The latest Blockbuster commercial starring animated pet-store hamsters Carl and Ray led the pack of Super Bowl ads in a national study conducted by HCD Research. The group polled 600 viewers over the age of 18 on Sunday night and found that the majority picked the humorous spot from a field of six ads hand-picked by a panel of advertising experts.

    Animated by Tippett Studios, the Blockbuster team of Carl and Ray made their debut during the 2002 Super Bowl. In this year’s winning ad, the furry duo tries to order movies online by using a real mouse, one of their fellow pet shop residents.

    The spot also got the most votes in a poll conducted on Sports.aol.com.

    The six spots included in the HCD Research survey were selected by Arthur J. Kover, Ph.D., former editor of the Journal of Advertising Research and Yale Management Fellow; Stuart Kreisman, Emmy Award-winning writer/producer; Jim Gaylord, former VP of international marketing and research for Fox Studios; Christopher Borick, Ph.D., director of Muhlenberg College Institute of Public Opinion; Larry Iaquinto, president and chief operating officer of IHC Group; Steve Feinberg, creative director for The Seiden Agency; andPaul Brala Ph.D., clinical psychologist.

    During the study, the advertisements were evaluated based on five parameters: breakthrough, creativity, memorability, excitement and involvement. In addition, each was evaluated using an on-line automated response system to determine high and low points of interest. The data was then used to create a metric with high scores indicating high advertising effectiveness. Responders were also asked questions regarding their perceptions of the ads. To view the top six Super Bowl ads, go to www.mediacurves.com.

  • Cartoon Network Inks Deal with Hallmark

    Cartoon Network’s global merchandizing and licensing division, Cartoon Network Enterprises (CNE), has signed an exclusive, long-term partnership with Hallmark Cards Inc. Under the multi-year deal, Hallmark will have exclusive rights to create greeting cards, party supplies and other personal expression products based on all Cartoon Network original properties for distribution in the U.S and Canada.

    ‘Our partnership with Hallmark will pave the way for our portfolio of Cartoon Network original series in this critical category of social expressions products,’ says Christina Miller, VP of consumer products for Cartoon Network Enterprises. ‘It will also give our fans the opportunity to use the humor, action and tone of the shows they love in everything from their celebrations to their personal expressions.’

    ‘This multi-year, multi-property arrangement will allow Hallmark to spend time and creative energy in not only creating products for today, but also to take an innovative approach as the characters and story-lines evolve,’ adds Karen Mitchell-Layton, VP of licensing acquisitions at Hallmark.

    Kansas City-based Hallmark Inc., which publishes products in more than 30 languages and distributes them in more than 100 countries, reported consolidated net revenues of $4.2 billion in 2005. The Cartoon Network deal will see the company this year releasing products based on such hit animated series as Foster’s Home for Imaginary Friends, Ben 10, The Powerpuff Girls, Ed, Edd and Eddy, Hi Hi Puffy AmiYumi, My Gym Partner is a Monkey, Camp Lazlo and The Grim Adventures of Billy and Mandy, as well as various Adult Swim properties.

  • Disney, Zemeckis to Make CG Pics

    The Walt Disney Studios has joined forces with the award-winning team of Robert Zemeckis, Jack Rapke and Steve Starkey to set-up a new company that will produce movies using the performance capture technology employed for The Polar Express, Monster House and the upcoming Beowulf. Zemeckis, Rapke and Starkey will produce all of the films with Zemeckis expected to direct a number of the projects. The Walt Disney Studios will handle worldwide distribution.

    “The creation of this new company is yet another step in our leadership role in cutting edge technology as it relates to the movie industry,” says Walt Disney Studios chairman Dick Cook. “Bob is an amazing director who continues to push the envelope in creating the best in cinematic experiences. Along with his partners, Jack and Steve, they are one of the finest producing teams in the business. They have a real pulse on the future of motion pictures especially as it pertains to the creativity and technology of motion capture and 3D film experiences. They are true leaders in every sense of the word and we are proud to be partners with them in this new endeavor.”

    Zemeckis adds, “Jack, Steve and I are looking forward with great excitement to be working with Dick Cook and his team. In addition to being an enthusiastic champion of 3D movies, The Walt Disney Studios is committed to the advancement of digital cinema in all areas including performance capture.”

    Developed by Sony Pictures Imageworks, performance capture involves digitally recording actors’ movements and feeding that data into a computer to drive animated characters. The process is based on motion capture but aims to translate an entire performance to digital animation. Zemeckis, Rapke and Starkey first used performance capture on Polar Express, which Zemeckis directed. Zemeckis then served as exec producer on the Academy Award-nominated feature Monster House and is currently directing and producing a digital adaptation of the classic Anglo-Saxon tale Beowulf. Rapke and Starkey are also producing that project, which is scheduled to hit theaters in 2007.

  • Whedon Off Wonder, Levy On Flash

    The Hollywood Reporter today brings word of two major shifts in direction for upcoming Warner Bros. feature films based on DC Comics properties. Joss Whedon, creator of Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Firefly, has left Wonder Woman, while Night at the Museum helmer Shawn Levy has taken over for David S. Goyer as director of The Flash.

    Writing on fan website www.whedonesque.com, Whedon says nobody at Warner Bros. or Silver Pictures liked his take on Wonder Woman. ‘Everybody knows how long I was taking, what a struggle that script was, and though I felt good about what I was coming up with, it was never gonna be a simple slam-dunk,’ he says. ‘I like to think it rolled around the rim a little bit, but others may have differing views.”

    Whedon was reportedly paid between $2 million and $3 million to develop a screenplay for the film, which he was also supposed to direct. Last week, Warner Bros. execs bought a different Wonder Woman spec script from newcomers Matthew Jennison and Brent Strickland, claiming they just wanted to get it off the market. Unlike Whedon’s treatment, which takes place in the present-day, Jennison and Strickland kept the story in the WWII context it was created in.

    Though he’s through with the Amazon warrior, Whedon is still heavily involved with comics. He has taken over the writing of Marvel Comics’s teen superhero series Runaways and is overseeing new issues of Dark Horse Comics’ Buffy the Vampire Slayer. He’s also writing and directing a thriller titled Goners for Universal Pictures.

    With his Night at the Museum raking in more than $225 million domestically, Shawn Levy will cash in with his own superhero tentpole, taking on The Flash for producers Charles Roven and Alex Gartner. David S. Goyer, who directed Blade: Trinity and co-wrote Batman Begins, announced his departure from the project on Friday, noting that he, too, had trouble seeing eye-to-eye with Warner Bros. Like Batman Begins and Superman Returns, Goyer’s take on The Flash was apparently on the dark side and the studio wanted something a bit lighter, like 20th Century Fox’s Fantastic Four. Levy, who also directed the comedies Cheaper By the Dozen and the latest Pink Panther, plans to bring some levity to the new script.

  • Gorillaz Swing at Imagina Awards

    The animated video for the Gorillaz song ‘El Manana’ took the Grand Prix at the 2007 Imagina Awards in Monaco. Held yesterday at the Grimaldi Forum, the ceremony recognized digital film and television work in nine categories including animation and visual effects. Other winners include DreamWorks’ Over The Hedge, which took the Prix de l’Animation, and Eurocorp’s Arthur and the Invisibles (Arthur et les Minimoys), which was named best feature film.

    Produced in the U.K., the Gorillaz piece was directed by Pete Candeland and Jamie Hewlett, with post-production work by Passion Pictures and RUSHES. Hewlett, co-creator of the comic book Tank Girl, created Gorillaz with Damon Albarn of the rock band Blur. Real musicians create the music but the songs are seen performed by animated characters known as 2D, Murdoc, Noodle and Russel. The video also won the Prix Clip Vid’o award at Imagina.

    Directed by Luc Besson (Leon: The Professional, La Femme Nikita), Arthur and the Invisibles got some love after being dismissed by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences for having too much live-action footage. The animated portions were brought to the screen by French CG house BUF Compagnie.

    The award for visual effects went to 20th Century Fox’s X-Men: The Last Stand, which beat out a number of CG-intensive blockbusters. Weta Digital was singled out for its work on the third installment in the film franchise based on the Marvel comic-book property. Weta also nabbed the Prix du Film Publicitaire for its work on the Travelers commercial titled ‘Snowball,’ directed by Dante Ariola of MJZ-Los Angeles.

    Axis Animation and The Mill in the U.K. took home the award for best short film with Codehunters, directed by Ben Hibon. Meanwhile, Supinfocom Valenciennes grads Fran’ois-Xavier, Edouard Jouret and Matthieu Landour walked away with the student award for their short film En Tus Brazos. Another French student entry, Burning Safari from Les Gobelins grads Vincent Aupetit, Florent Delataille, Jeanne Irzenski, Maxime Maleo, Aur’lien Predal and Claude-William Trebutien, was given the Special Jury Prize.

    Aimed at celebrating European digital content creation, the Imagina conference and competition kicked off on Jan. 31 and ended on Feb. 2. More than 22 countries participated in this year’s event, which featured presentations of 30 blockbusters including Disney’s Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest, Warner Bros.’ Happy Feet and Disney/Pixar’s Cars. More information can be found at www.imagina.mc.

  • Bud.TV Gets Animated with Afterworld

    Anheuser-Busch’s new broadband network, Bud.TV, has picked up a CG-animated series titled Afterworld. The post-apocalyptic, sci-fi show from Stan Rogow Prods. is listed as coming soon, and a trailer can be seen at www.bud.tv (registration required).

    In Afterworld, a technology salesman named Russell Shoemaker wakes up one day to find technology dead and most of the human race missing. Learning to survive in this brave, new world, Russell sets out across the country in search of family members who may or may not have survived.

    The series is written and produced by Brent Friedman, who wrote for the short-lived 1996 primetime series Dark Skies, and most recently co-wrote the upcoming animated feature Foodfight! for Threshold Animation and Lions Gate Films. Stan Rogow Prods. is reportedly producing 130 two-minute episodes of Afterworld. Following a 10-day exclusive engagement on Bud.TV, the series will also be available at Afterworld.TV. In Addition, the producers have plans to extend the interactive property across other platforms, including mobile and gaming.

  • L’vesque Heads Content Development at 9 Story Ent.

    Former TELETOON production exec Madeleine L’vesque has been named to the newly created position of exec VP of content development for animation company 9 Story Ent. She assumed the role on Feb. 1 and will head all development projects for the company, which produces such popular toon shows as Peep and the Big Wide World and Skyland.

    Reporting to 9 Story president and CEO Vince Commisso, L’vesque will be responsible for identifying and acquiring new entertainment properties and leading the development of all of the company’s proprietary properties, from concept through production. She will first oversee the development of the 2D digital animated series Almost Naked Animals, Bash Boys and SuperEwe.

    “Madeleine L’vesque has amassed impressive credits throughout her career and will be a vital contributor to the company’s future growth plans,” says Commisso. “She is the ideal person to nurture projects from development to delivery and we are thrilled to have her join our 9 Story executive team.”

    As director of original productions for Canada’s TELETOON, L’vesque spent the last ten years in charge of all facets of the network’s production and development projects spearheading the selection, financing, and negotiations for all original productions. L’vesque oversaw the production of thousands of hours of television , including the series Angela Anaconda, Braceface, What’s With Andy?, 6TEEN, Atomic Betty and Di-Gata Defenders.

    Prior to joining TELETOON, L’vesque was a producer for SDA Productions Ltd., where she producing such notable series as Popular Mechanics for Kids, Max the Cat, Omerta (English version) and Scoop (English version). She is currently a Board member of The Alliance for Children and Television, and a member of the Academy of Canadian Cin’ma and T’l’vision (ACCT) and Femme du Cin’ma de la T’l’vision et Vid’o de Montr’al (FCTVM).

  • SWAY Taps NVIDIA Power for Super Bowl Ad

    Westwood, Calif.-based SWAY Studio relied on NVIDIA Quadro graphics processor solutions to produce photo-real animation in real time for one of this year’s anticipated Super Bowl commercials. The 60-second spot for automobile manufacturer GM will debut during the big game on Sunday, Feb. 4.

    The commercial revolves around a small robot that accidentally drops a bolt while working on the GM assembly line. The mistake causes the line to shut down, and the robot is ultimately banished from the company premises. Forlorn and uncertain of his future, the robot does his best to move on with life.

    ‘Our biggest challenge was to seamlessly create and integrate a realistic CG robot into footage of the actual robot we filmed on set,’ said Mark Glaser, owner and creative director of SWAY Studio. ‘NVIDIA Quadro-based solutions allowed us to easily work at this high level of resolution and detail in real time, which saved us a considerable amount of time throughout the project.’

    In creating a CG replicate of the real assembly robot, the artist at SWAY shot basic photography of the robot in various positions and also recorded High Dynamic Range Imagery (HDRI) from multiple angles to generate a simulated render of what the CG robot would have looked like had it been filmed in real life. SWAY found that while animating the highly detailed 3D model of the robot, with all the detail necessary for HDTV resolution, visual interaction was solid and unshakable due to the reliability of NVIDIA Quadro graphics.

    SWAY also had to fill the usually dry Los Angeles River with CG water, created by using multiple layers of procedural textures. The effect was achieved with D2 Software’s Nuke, a high-end compositing software that utilizes Quadro graphics technology.

    ‘When it comes to compositing with Nuke, NVIDIA is the only option,’ explains Glaser. ‘Its Open-GL driver interface displays flawlessly on NVIDIA graphic cards. With other graphics board solutions, you can expect to have interface rendering problems, but that is not the case with NVIDIA Quadro graphics. The key is that NVIDIA delivers the best quality drivers’always stable and dependable.’

    ‘We use NVIDIA Quadro solutions for all our projects and are thrilled about the power of the latest NVIDIA GPUs,’ Glaser adds. ‘They generate an opportunity for us to be more creative and efficient in our work. We get excited about faster CPUs, but what is truly exciting is the advancement NVIDIA is making with its GPUs, as this brings us closer to our vision of producing real-time photorealistic CG.’

    NVIDIA is headquartered in Santa Clara, Calif. and has offices throughout Asia, Europe and the Americas. For more information on the company and its suite of products, go www.nvidia.com.

  • Crocs Chomps on Nick Characters

    Shoe company Crocs Inc. has inked a licensing agreement with the Nickelodeon network and will introduce an exclusive, limited-edition line of footwear sporting characters from the hit animated shows Dora the Explorer and SpongeBob SquarePants. The shoes for kids will be available at select U.S. retail locations in the summer of 2007.

    Crocs Inc. designs, manufactures and retails footwear for men, women and children under the Crocs brand. All Crocs brand shoes feature a proprietary closed-cell resin called Croslite, which the company says represents a substantial innovation in footwear. The Croslite material enables Crocs to produce soft, comfortable, lightweight, superior-gripping, non-marking and odor-resistant shoes.

    Crocs are sold in more than 70 countries and come in a wide array of colors and styles. The Nickelodeon line will be targeted to children aged 2 and up, and will feature a variety of kid-friendly designs.

  • Journey 3-D Set for 2008

    Real D’s digital 3-D projection system will handle its first live-action feature film when New Line Cinema and Walden Media debut Journey 3-D, a new take on the classic Jules Verne Journey to the Center of the Earth. Sure to feature a generous helping of visual effects and CG animation, the film will roll out on approximately 1,500 screens in North America in the summer of 2008.

    Starring Brendan Fraser, Josh Hutcherson and Anita Briem, Journey 3-D is about a scientist who takes his nephew and a mountain guide on an expedition to a prehistoric lost world at the Earth’s core. In the modernized adaptation by scribe D.V. DeVincentis (High Fidelity) the scientist believes that Verne actually made such a trip and left his original manuscript as a map to the fantastic, subterranean environment.

    Making his feature directorial debut with the pic is Academy Award-winning visual effects supervisor Eric Brevig, whose credits include The Island, The Day After Tomorrow and Pearl Harbor. To shoot the stereoscopic adventure story, he and cinematographer Chuck Shuman used the cameras developed for Walden Media’s and James Cameron’s 3D docs Ghosts of the Abyss and Aliens of the Deep.

  • Voltron DVDs to Be Based on Comics

    Eagle One Media Inc. it has acquired licensing rights from World Events Prods. to produce a set of feature-length DVDs based on the 1980s anime property Voltron: Defender of the Universe. The home video releases will essentially be animated digital comics that utilize artwork and content from the popular Voltron comic books published by Devil’s Due Publishing.

    Each Voltron DVD will cover five to seven issues of the comic book series. Artists will add limited animation, motion-style techniques, character voice-overs, music and special effects to the existing artwork.

    ‘These DVDs will have more animation and action then our previous releases and each DVD will contain two versions of the adapted comic book story for fans to enjoy,’ says Eric Reichert, president of Eagle One Media. ‘One version will show the traditional word balloons on screen as the dialog is spoken during the video play much like a comic, while the other version will have the word balloons removed so fans can see more of the action and more of the wonderfully drawn and animated scenes on the screen.’?

    The first release, Voltron: Defender of the Universe’Revelations, will hit retail in June of 2007 with a suggested retail price of $19.99. Eagle One Media plans to secure an agreement with an established animation DVD distributor in the near future to ensure wider roll-outs for its titles. The company’s complete product line can also be ordered through its website at www.eagleonemedia.com.

  • Massive Builds Global Partner Network

    Massive Software, a leading developer of autonomous-agent 3D animation systems, has established a certified network of worldwide channel partners that includes top visual effects and technology companies. Recently used in such films as Happy Feet, Charlotte’s Web, King Kong and The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, Massive and Massive Ready-to-Run Agents allow scenes and stunts to be achieved with virtual characters controlled by procedural animation and artificial intelligence.

    Massive’s roster of channel partners include On the Go Technologies, RFX Inc., PacifiCAD, Cinesys and 3VIS in North America, Escape Studios in the U.K.,

    Weltenbauer in Germany, Megafront in Sweden and Crescent Video, Storm FX, Rahul Commerce and Jadason Technology in the Asia-Pacific region. The channel partners represent the company with animation and effects studios in their respective regions. London’s Escape Studios, for example, has helped put Massive products in place at such leading vfx shops as The Mill, Framestore CFC, Rushes and Double Negative.

    “We are thrilled to be working with such a powerhouse team of channel partners,” says Massive CEO Diane Holland. “Strong channel partnerships are essential to Massive’s growth, and are central to our business strategy going forward. Massive has already been adopted by many of the world’s leading feature film vfx facilities, and we look forward to working through our partners to reach an even broader range of clientele.”

    Agents are 3D characters that have a fuzzy logic AI “brain” and the natural senses of sight, sound and touch, enabling them to interpret and react autonomously to the world around them. They can be just about any type of character, including humanoids, animals, insects and inanimate objects such as vehicles.

    Designed by programmer Stephen Regelous to fill Peter Jackson’s Lord of the Rings films with thousands of digital extras, Massive received a Scientific and Engineering Award from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences in 2004. For information on the company and its products, go to www.massivesoftware.com.

  • Universal Launches Curious George DVD Series

    Universal Studios Home Entertainment will release Curious George: Zoo Night and Other Animal Stories, the first entry in a series of DVD titles drawn from the new hit animated show that airs on PBS KIDS in the U.S. Scheduled to arrive at retail on Feb. 20, the release will include eight 15-minute episodes of the show about an incurably inquisitive monkey who helps kids build their math, science and engineering skills through his entertaining adventures.

    Based on the classic childrens’ books by Margret and H.A., the Curious George television series is a production of Imagine Ent., WGBH Boston and Universal Studios Family Productions. Emmy Award-winning actor William H. Macy (Seabiscuit, Pleasantville) provides narration as George and his best friend, The Man with the Yellow Hat get into all sorts of scrapes with new characters including Gnocchi the cat, Hundley the dachshund, Chef Pisghetti and Compass the confused homing pigeon. New episodes are slated to begin airing the week of Feb.19-23.

    Bonus features on Curious George: Zoo Night and Other Animal Stories will include interactive games that have kids searching for magic numbers and helping George shop for one of his favorite treats’donuts. There will also be coloring pages that kids will be able to print out. The DVD carry the suggested retail price of $16.98.

  • Godzilla to Be Unleashed on Wii

    Atari Inc. announced that it is developing a new game titled Godzilla: Unleashed for Nintendo’s Wii and DS systems, as well as Sony’s potble PSP device. Shceduled to hit retail this fall, the fighting game will feature the Big G. going up against a number of the most renowned monsters of all-time in epic melees set I destructible environments.

    With Godzilla: Unleashed, gamers will be challenged to save the planet from mayhem and destruction. Players will claw, kick, stomp, throw and blast their way through the streets of major cities around the world in order to claim the title of King of the Monsters. The game will feature a fully reinvented combat system and an innovative, non-linear storyline which will allow players to influence how the story unfolds through their choices within battles.

    “We are building on the famous Godzilla franchise by focusing on multiple story paths and devastating urban destruction, and utilizing the most imposing creatures in film history, all in one hard-hitting fighting game,” says Rick Mehler, director of marketing for Atari. “In Godzilla: Unleashed for the Wii, players will tap into their inner monster powers when using the system’s wireless, motion-sensing controller.”

    Toho’s Godzilla debuted on the big screen in 1954 and has become one of the longest-running film franchises in history. Released last year in North America, Godzilla: Final Wars is supposedly the final chapter in the saga, but fans are holding out hope that Toho continues the series.

    Godzilla Unleashed will be the third title in the video game franchise. Atari previously released Godzilla: Destroy All Monsters Melee in 2002 and Godzilla: Save the Earth in 2004. For more information on the upcoming game and other Atari products, go to www.atari.com.

  • Aqua Teen Stunt Causes Scare

    Turner Broadcasting may be in hot water after a viral marketing campaign for the Adult Swim series Aqua Teen Hunger Force caused a terrorism scare in Boston yesterday. Bomb squads were called in and traffic ground to a halt in certain parts of the city after citizens reported seeing suspicious-looking LED light panels featuring one of the show’s character’s giving the middle finger.

    Boston police have charged 27-year-old Peter Berdvosky of Arlington, Mass. with a felony for placing the devices on bridges, roadways and transit stops. Though Berdvosky has denied being directly employed by Turner Broadcasting, city and state officials have vowed legal action against the company.

    Turner issued a statement that reads: ‘The ‘packages’ in question are magnetic lights that pose no danger. They have been in place for two to three weeks in Boston, New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Atlanta, Seattle, Portland, Austin, San Francisco and Philadelphia. Parent company Turner Broadcasting is in contact with local and federal law enforcement on the exact locations of the billboards. We regret that they were mistakenly thought to pose any danger.’

    In addition to promoting the show, the blinking light devices are intended to drum up awareness for the upcoming feature film titled Aqua Teen Hunger Force Colon Movie Film For Theaters. Written, produced and directed by series creators Matt Maiellaro and Dave Willis, the movie is produced by Williams Street and will be released theatrically this March by First Look Pictures.

  • Image Ent. Captures SCI FI Flicks

    Image Ent. Inc., an independent licensee, producer and distributor of home entertainment has acquired home video and digital download rights to 14 movies originally produced for the SCI FI Channel’s Saturday night movie franchise. Under the multi-year agreement with NBC Universal Television Distribution, Image will handle such CG-intensive pics as Manticore, Locusts: The 8th Plague, Webs, Bugs, Snakehead Terror and Terminal Invasion, which stars cult-favorite Bruce Campbell of Evil Dead fame.

    The SCI FI Channel is one of the biggest commissioners of original movies in the United States. Every Saturday night, the network debuts a new genre B-movie which usually involves some sort of rampaging computer-generated monster. Filling a void left by the demise of the drive-in theater, the weekly programming event has been dubbed ‘SCI FI Saturday: The Most Dangerous Night of Television.’

    Image plans to add extra features to a number of the films for their North American DVD releases. Other titles incuded in the agreement are Interceptor Force 2, Darklight, Crimson Force, Alien Siege, Threshold, Encrypt, Deathlands and Do or Die.